The Cathedral of Ani is the largest and most complete of the major monuments at the ruined city, standing roofless but structurally intact for over a thousand years. Built between 989 and 1001 AD, it was the cathedral church of the Bagratid Armenian kingdom and one of the most ambitious religious buildings of the medieval period.
The exterior is notable for its blind arcading and the precise geometry of its stonework in the warm volcanic tuff that gives all the Ani buildings their distinctive reddish-gold colour. The interior — open to the sky since the roof collapsed — still has carved decorations on the pilasters and the remains of painted plaster. The building was converted to a mosque briefly during the Seljuk period, which preserved it from outright destruction. Standing inside, surrounded by the roofless walls with the Armenian plateau stretching away on all sides, is one of the most atmospheric experiences in Turkish archaeology.